![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/09\/EU-Enyo-333x220.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
New Delhi: The European Union\u2019s envoy to India, Herv\u00e9 Delphin, has described the latest round of India-EU trade negotiations as a \u201cmissed opportunity,\u201d urging New Delhi to act decisively if a long-pending free trade agreement (FTA) is to be concluded by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, Delphin, speaking at the launch of India\u2019s World magazine, recalled that both sides had pledged to wrap up the FTA in 2025, but the 13th round of talks held in New Delhi earlier this month failed to meet expectations. \u201cThe strategic case for the deal is clear\u2026 now concrete deliverables must be the focus,\u201d he said, adding that the EU had already shown readiness for a \u201cmeaningful package\u201d and that the ball was now in India\u2019s court.<\/p>\n
The envoy stressed that the FTA carried strategic weight at a time of global disorder marked by intensifying US-China rivalry, nationalist politics, and erosion of multilateralism. He said the EU and India could complement each other to \u201cde-risk economic turmoil and security uncertainties,\u201d noting that Europe had relaunched talks in 2022 as part of its reassessment after Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Reports from Brussels confirm that key sticking points remain unresolved, particularly on agriculture, automotives, chemicals, steel, machinery, investment rules, and dispute settlement. The EU insists on enforceable commitments on trade and sustainable development, while India resists binding dispute mechanisms and sanctions. European negotiators have admitted that without credible sustainability provisions, \u201ca chapter cannot be an empty shell.\u201d<\/p>\n
India, for its part, has raised concerns over the EU\u2019s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, deforestation laws, and due diligence regimes, warning these could raise compliance costs and restrict Indian exports. New Delhi is pressing for duty-free access for goods and easier mobility for skilled professionals, but continues to cite EU \u201cprotectionist regulatory measures and non-tariff barriers\u201d as major hurdles.<\/p>\n
The EU envoy also touched on geopolitical issues, warning that India\u2019s close partnership with Russia remains a \u201cquestion\u201d in Brussels. He pointed to India\u2019s participation in the upcoming Russia-Belarus \u2018Zapad-2025\u2019 military exercise and its record crude imports from Russia. \u201cIndia wants to deepen ties with the EU, but squaring its Russia policy with that objective will require further consideration in Delhi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas echoed similar concerns while unveiling a new EU-India strategic agenda, noting that India\u2019s continued military and oil ties with Moscow stood \u201cin the way of closer relations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: The European Union\u2019s envoy to India, Herv\u00e9 Delphin, has described the latest round of India-EU trade negotiations as a \u201cmissed opportunity,\u201d urging New Delhi to act decisively if a long-pending free trade agreement (FTA) is to be concluded by the end of this year. According to Kashmir Media Service, Delphin, speaking at the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":184614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/09\/EU-Enyo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184615,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184613\/revisions\/184615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}